Patient leg support

Abstract

An improved patient leg support and bedding support frame which serves to elevate the sheets and blankets to prevent their interfering with the patient's leg movements, a leg support member formed of resilient material insertable between a patient's legs to assure maintenance of desired spacing of the legs and pivotally attachable to the frame to enable the patient to turn his legs and body without additional assistance.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A leg support device comprising: a frame mountable on a patient's bed to prevent bedding from interfering with movement of the patient's legs, said frame comprising a pair of horizontal members defining a space therebetween,   a leg support member releasably attachable to said frame and freely rotatable with respect to said frame, said leg support member being positionable between the patient's legs to assure maintenance of proper orientation of an injured leg while the patient is turning,   a shaft projecting from the rear end of said leg support member and dimensioned to pass freely through said space,   a rigid washer mounted on said shaft and spaced a predetermined distance from the end of said shaft to prevent said leg support member from engaging said frame during rotation, and   a resilient washer mounted between said rigid washer and the end of said shaft and dimensioned to frictionally pass through said space to permit releasable attachment of said leg support member to said frame.   
     
     
       2. The leg support device of claim 1 further comprising: means for releasably securing an injured leg to said leg support member.   
     
     
       3. The leg support device of claim 1 wherein: said leg support member is formed of resilient material.   
     
     
       4. The leg support device of claim 1 wherein: said leg support member is formed of polyurethane foam.   
     
     
       5. The leg support device of claim 1 wherein: said shaft projects from a rigid plate embedded within said leg support member.   
     
     
       6. The leg support device of claim 1 wherein: said shaft projects perpendicularly from a plate mounted on one end of said leg support device.   
     
     
       7. The leg support device of claim 2 wherein: said means for securing the patient's leg to said leg support member is a sleeve covering said leg support member and formed with a flap projecting from the bottom of said sleeve and having means for releasably fastening the free end of said flap to the top of said sleeve with said flap extending about the injured leg.   
     
     
       8. The leg support device of claim 1 wherein: said leg support member is inflatable.   
     
     
       9. A leg support device comprising: a frame mountable on a patient's bed to prevent bedding from interfering with movement of the patient's legs, said frame comprising a pair of horizontal members defining a space therebetween,   a leg support member releasably attachable to said frame and freely rotatable with respect to said frame, said leg support member being positionable between the patient's legs to assure maintenance of proper orientation of an injured leg while the patient is turning, and   a shaft projecting from a rigid plate embedded within the rear end of said leg support member and dimensioned to pass freely through said space.   
     
     
       10. The leg support device of claim 9 wherein: said shaft projects perpendicularly from a plate mounted on the rear end of said leg support device.